Legal headaches seem to be intensifying for Nevada homeowner associations and their collection agencies, with the filing Monday of another class-action lawsuit over HOA debt-collection practices.
Attorneys for Benita Jones Ebel filed suit in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas against Nevada Association Services Inc. (NAS), claiming it’s been violating the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act by sending "dunning letters" that are "unfair and unconscionable" and invaded her privacy.
Ebel in the lawsuit seeks to represent a class of people who received such letters over alleged debts resulting from unpaid HOA assessments.
The suit specifically charges that in a Dec. 17 collection letter regarding an alleged debt to the Rancho Viejo HOA, NAS threatened to file a lien against Ebel’s home if the debt wasn’t paid within 10 days.
This violated the law in that consumers have 30 days to dispute such debts, the lawsuit suggests.
"As a result of defendant’s threat to record a notice of delinquent assessment lien, defendant threatened to take non-judicial action to effect … disablement of plaintiff’s property without the present right to do so," charged the suit, which was filed by attorneys with Cogburn Law Offices.
David Stone, president of Nevada Association Services, said Monday his company complies with the debt collection law.
"We will file the appropriate responsive pleading, and if this is found to be a frivolous lawsuit we will be seeking attorney's fees. We expect this claim to be adjudicated in our favor, as similar claims have been. We have been sued before and I expect more lawsuits. Plaintiffs are looking for a quick payday and this is not going to happen," Stone said.
With the recession causing many homeowners to fall behind on paying HOA assessments, and vacant and foreclosed homes sometimes producing no revenue for HOAs, collection activity has picked up in recent years and controversies and lawsuits have followed.
Numerous collection lawsuits are pending in state and federal court in Las Vegas and a massive complaint was filed last month with the state Real Estate Division against more than 500 Nevada homeowner associations.
Yet another pending lawsuit, filed by a Bank of America subsidiary, claims HOAs have been trying to get the bank to pay for unauthorized attorney’s fees and collection costs related to assessments against foreclosed homes.
Showing posts with label lasvegas homes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label lasvegas homes. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Nevada bucks trend in home repos
By ALEX VEIGA
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Posted: May 12, 2011 | 12:18 a.m.
LOS ANGELES -- Nevada again had the highest foreclosure rate in the nation, with one in every 97 households receiving a foreclosure notice in April, according to a report being released today.
The Silver State also bucked the overall national trend, as bank repossessions jumped 23 percent from March and climbed 12 percent from April of last year, RealtyTrac said in its report.
Lenders may have elected to pick up the pace of foreclosures in Nevada to take advantage of brisk foreclosure sales in Las Vegas. In March, sales of previously occupied homes in Las Vegas hit a five-year high, with distressed properties accounting for 69 percent of sales, according to DataQuick.
However, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported that real-estate owned, or bank-owned, homes accounted for roughly 47 percent of sales, while short sales, or homes sold for less than the mortgage owed, accounted for 23 percent of sales.
Across the nation, fewer Americans had their homes repossessed by banks or were put on notice for being behind on their mortgage payments in April compared to a year ago.
That would ordinarily suggest improving fortunes for U.S. homeowners, but the decline had less to do with any turnaround in the housing market than with foreclosure processing delays that appear to be getting worse. That is threatening to drag out a housing recovery, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said in its report.
It's taking longer for lenders to move against homeowners who have stopped paying their mortgage and to take back homes already in some stage of the foreclosure process. In states like New York, for example, it now takes an average of more than two years for a home to go from the initial stage of foreclosure to being repossessed by a bank, the firm said.
Those delays, partly due to banks working through foreclosure documentation problems that came to light last fall, means it could take many more years for lenders to deal with a backlog of seriously delinquent properties, which numbers up to 3.7 million, by some estimates.
"It's going to take between three to four years just to get those loans into foreclosure at our current pace," said Rick Sharga, a senior vice president at RealtyTrac. "And that doesn't spell good news for the housing market."
Nevada has led the nation in foreclosures for several years since the housing market collapsed. Across the U.S., banks repossessed 69,532 homes last month, down 5 percent from March and down 25 percent compared with April of last year, according to RealtyTrac, which tracks warnings sent to homeowners throughout the foreclosure process.
The number of properties receiving an initial notice of default fell to 63,422, down 14 percent from March and down 39 percent from April 2010, RealtyTrac reported.
Homes scheduled for auction for the first time also declined in April, falling to 86,304. That's down 7 percent from March and 37 percent below April of last year.
Las Vegas-based SalesTraq showed 2,099 bank repossessions in March, compared with 943 in February and 1,520 in January. They're up 68 percent from the same month a year ago.
Banks sold off 2,131 homes in March, leaving the bank-owned inventory in Las Vegas at 11,684, according to SalesTraq.
A weak housing market, sliding home prices and pressure on lenders to give troubled homeowners more time to work out new payment arrangements or loan terms have all contributed to the longer time frame for foreclosures.
Many banks also have taken steps to revisit thousands of foreclosure cases since last fall, delaying the processing of new foreclosures. The logjam has been compounded by court delays in states like Florida, New York and New Jersey, where foreclosures must be approved by a judge.
In the first three months of this year, it took an average of 400 days for a U.S. home to go from receiving an initial notice of default to being foreclosed on, RealtyTrac said.
That's up from an average of 340 days in the same period last year and more than double the 151-day average in the first quarter of 2007.
The delays are even lengthier at the state level. In New York and New Jersey, the foreclosure process took more than 900 days, on average, to run its course in the first quarter -- more than three times the average length of time in the first quarter of 2007 for both states.
In Florida, one of the states hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis, the process took an average of 619 days in the first quarter, up from 470 days a year earlier. In the first quarter of 2007, it took an average of 169 days for the process to play out, RealtyTrac said.
Barring a pickup in the pace of foreclosures, it is likely fewer homes will be repossessed this year than in 2010, when lenders took back more than a million, Sharga said.
Despite the drop in foreclosure activity last month, several states continue to have outsized foreclosure rates.
Review-Journal writer Hubble Smith contributed to this report
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Posted: May 12, 2011 | 12:18 a.m.
LOS ANGELES -- Nevada again had the highest foreclosure rate in the nation, with one in every 97 households receiving a foreclosure notice in April, according to a report being released today.
The Silver State also bucked the overall national trend, as bank repossessions jumped 23 percent from March and climbed 12 percent from April of last year, RealtyTrac said in its report.
Lenders may have elected to pick up the pace of foreclosures in Nevada to take advantage of brisk foreclosure sales in Las Vegas. In March, sales of previously occupied homes in Las Vegas hit a five-year high, with distressed properties accounting for 69 percent of sales, according to DataQuick.
However, the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors reported that real-estate owned, or bank-owned, homes accounted for roughly 47 percent of sales, while short sales, or homes sold for less than the mortgage owed, accounted for 23 percent of sales.
Across the nation, fewer Americans had their homes repossessed by banks or were put on notice for being behind on their mortgage payments in April compared to a year ago.
That would ordinarily suggest improving fortunes for U.S. homeowners, but the decline had less to do with any turnaround in the housing market than with foreclosure processing delays that appear to be getting worse. That is threatening to drag out a housing recovery, foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc. said in its report.
It's taking longer for lenders to move against homeowners who have stopped paying their mortgage and to take back homes already in some stage of the foreclosure process. In states like New York, for example, it now takes an average of more than two years for a home to go from the initial stage of foreclosure to being repossessed by a bank, the firm said.
Those delays, partly due to banks working through foreclosure documentation problems that came to light last fall, means it could take many more years for lenders to deal with a backlog of seriously delinquent properties, which numbers up to 3.7 million, by some estimates.
"It's going to take between three to four years just to get those loans into foreclosure at our current pace," said Rick Sharga, a senior vice president at RealtyTrac. "And that doesn't spell good news for the housing market."
Nevada has led the nation in foreclosures for several years since the housing market collapsed. Across the U.S., banks repossessed 69,532 homes last month, down 5 percent from March and down 25 percent compared with April of last year, according to RealtyTrac, which tracks warnings sent to homeowners throughout the foreclosure process.
The number of properties receiving an initial notice of default fell to 63,422, down 14 percent from March and down 39 percent from April 2010, RealtyTrac reported.
Homes scheduled for auction for the first time also declined in April, falling to 86,304. That's down 7 percent from March and 37 percent below April of last year.
Las Vegas-based SalesTraq showed 2,099 bank repossessions in March, compared with 943 in February and 1,520 in January. They're up 68 percent from the same month a year ago.
Banks sold off 2,131 homes in March, leaving the bank-owned inventory in Las Vegas at 11,684, according to SalesTraq.
A weak housing market, sliding home prices and pressure on lenders to give troubled homeowners more time to work out new payment arrangements or loan terms have all contributed to the longer time frame for foreclosures.
Many banks also have taken steps to revisit thousands of foreclosure cases since last fall, delaying the processing of new foreclosures. The logjam has been compounded by court delays in states like Florida, New York and New Jersey, where foreclosures must be approved by a judge.
In the first three months of this year, it took an average of 400 days for a U.S. home to go from receiving an initial notice of default to being foreclosed on, RealtyTrac said.
That's up from an average of 340 days in the same period last year and more than double the 151-day average in the first quarter of 2007.
The delays are even lengthier at the state level. In New York and New Jersey, the foreclosure process took more than 900 days, on average, to run its course in the first quarter -- more than three times the average length of time in the first quarter of 2007 for both states.
In Florida, one of the states hardest hit by the foreclosure crisis, the process took an average of 619 days in the first quarter, up from 470 days a year earlier. In the first quarter of 2007, it took an average of 169 days for the process to play out, RealtyTrac said.
Barring a pickup in the pace of foreclosures, it is likely fewer homes will be repossessed this year than in 2010, when lenders took back more than a million, Sharga said.
Despite the drop in foreclosure activity last month, several states continue to have outsized foreclosure rates.
Review-Journal writer Hubble Smith contributed to this report
When troops get orders to move, some risk losing houses
By Keith Rogers
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Posted: May 22, 2011 | 7:37 a.m.
Updated: May 22, 2011 | 2:18 p.m.
These soldiers and airmen have dropped bombs or have seen them explode in Iraq and Afghanistan, so they know firsthand the stress of fighting the nation's wars.
Now they are battling a different kind of stress at home in the Las Vegas Valley -- the chronic stress that weighs on them from being at ground zero of the mortgage crisis.
When they get orders to move somewhere else, they have no choice but to go. In many cases, they face six-figure losses on their homes through short sales or foreclosure.
They also risk losing their security clearances, which could prevent them from flying warplanes and leading troops after they arrive at their new assignments.
"This has been more stressful than my deployment," said Lt. Col. Eric Wishart, who is trying to sell a home worth 60 percent less than he paid for it. "And going to Afghanistan is no picnic."
Wishart is not alone.
More than a thousand airmen at Nellis Air Force Base have been trapped in the mortgage crisis and are unable to refinance, according to a survey by Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev.
The survey found 740 airmen upside down on their mortgages don't qualify for the Pentagon aid program, another 263 can't sell their homes at a break-even price and some are renting them at a monthly loss.
Of the base's 8,932 personnel, 32 are in foreclosure and 98 have completed short sales or are in the process of completing one.
After seeing this snapshot of what is happening at Nellis, Heck proposed an amendment to a defense bill to shed more light on the problem.
While the bill doesn't provide funding for an assistance program, it would study the problem nationwide across all branches of the services.
"Service members become distracted by personal and financial issues, rather than focusing on their mission," Heck said earlier this month , noting that a soldier's ruined credit makes it difficult for them to maintain their security clearances.
ONE SOLDIER'S STORY
Wishart, a full-time Nevada National Guard soldier and military science professor who chairs the Army ROTC program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, is trying to pay off a 1,550-square-foot house in northwest Las Vegas, where he lives with his wife and two daughters.
They bought the house in 2006 for $327,000, but it is only worth $132,000 based upon its current appraisal and a cash offer in a short sale.
His permanent-change-of-station, or PCS, orders will soon send him to Carson City to work as a battalion commander at Guard headquarters.
He might have been able to avoid a loss through the Defense Department's Homeowners' Assistance Program, but he isn't eligible even though it was expanded in the 2009 economic stimulus bill.
The assistance program through the Army Corps of Engineers is limited to personnel who bought their homes before July 1, 2006, but who sold them because of permanent relocations between Feb. 1, 2006, and Sept. 30.
"What I'm asking for is some protection from deficiency judgments," said Wishart, who served as a combat adviser in Afghanistan during a year's tour that ended in 2009.
"Thank God, no one on our team was killed or injured, but we saw our share of rockets and IEDs," he said, referring to improvised explosive devices, or roadside bombs.
'UPSIDE DOWN A BUNCH'
Three pilots who fly fighter jets at Nellis Air Force Base told similar tales after being reassigned out of state.
Lt. Col. Mike Ballek, an F-15 pilot, said he, too, has been enduring financial stress since he learned in October that he would be moving his wife and son to Washington, D.C., this summer.
They bought a new two-story home in June 2007 in a gated North Las Vegas community. The value of the 2,800-square-foot home is "upside down a bunch, over $200,000," he said Friday.
Like Wishart, he isn't eligible for assistance under the Defense Department program and is losing money every month.
"What people would like to see is maybe expand the window or get rid of the eligibility date. Let people apply and let the folks who run the program make the decision on who's deserving," said Ballek, who, like the other pilots, spoke as a private citizen and not on behalf of the armed forces.
Stress from the mortgage crisis centers on that nagging thought "that potentially all your life savings could be gone. There are a lot of unknowns," Ballek said.
"It's a different kind of stress but still stressful," he said. "In combat your primary concern is not getting shot or making sure that you bomb the right target not the wrong target. This is a different kind of stress, the kind that weighs on you over time ... knowing that you have to figure out how to get out from under the house and what's going to happen in terms of security clearances."
'DO THE BEST FOR MY FAMILY'
Marine Corps Lt. Col. David Berke flies F-22 Raptor jets out of Nellis under a pilot exchange program with the Air Force. He moved here in 2008 and bought a home in North Las Vegas with his wife to start their family. They now have a 2-year-old daughter and a newborn.
"I don't have a waterfall and a helicopter pad, just a reasonably priced home in a reasonable neighborhood. The goal was not being greedy or lavish but to do the best for my family."
With orders to relocate next month to Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., to fly the new F-35 joint strike fighter jets, Berke said he will have to find a place to rent there while continuing to make payments on his North Las Vegas home that he bought for about $250,000 but is now worth approximately $120,000.
He expects to lose between $125,000 and $150,000 on his investment, which has brought on "a significant amount of personal stress."
"It undermines the barrier between your professional life and personal life," said Berke, who has been a Marine pilot for 17 years with multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Berke said when he bought the house in 2008 he thought the home market had hit bottom and the market would return. Now he thinks "there's a distinct possibility that home values will decrease in the future."
LOSING SECURITY CLEARANCE
Air Force Lt. Col. Zac Wood closed on his North Las Vegas house in 2009 thinking the market would recover in the three or four years he would be stationed at Nellis flying F-16s.
"I really never thought I'd find myself in this situation," Wood said.
He and his wife have three children.
"We have it on the market and we're trying to hold on to it and sell for at least what we owe the bank."
While he is not as upside down on his North Las Vegas home as some of the other pilots, his situation is compounded by having his savings tied up in a previous residence in Newport News, Va., that he must rent out at a loss.
He also is worried about losing his security clearance after he moves to his new assignment in Fort Drum, N.Y., his 11th move in 17 years.
"Up until last year my understanding was you could let security know you might have to file bankruptcy and go into foreclosure, and they would kind of understand that. But in the last six months to nine months or so, they've come about and said they're not going to be quite so understanding," he said.
"So I could lose my security clearance. And if I lose my security clearance, I'm kind of useless to the Air Force. Pretty much every job that I could do requires a security clearance."
Wood, an Iraq War veteran, said he loses sleep trying to grapple with the mortgage crisis.
"It's a horribly stressful situation," he said, adding that he tries to find peace of mind through running. "I ran six miles today to get rid of it."
In interviews last week, the three pilots emphasized that they need to protect the integrity of their security clearances. They said they also risk depleting their savings to stay afloat while they try to sell their homes at a loss, or rent them out with a negative cash flow. Additionally, they will be strapped to buy or rent at their new locations that, like Nellis, have either no or limited on-base housing.
THROUGH AN AGENT'S EYES
Real estate agent Aldo Martinez, who retired from the military in 2005, is handling the Wishart family's short sale and has worked with many active duty soldiers and airmen in the Las Vegas area.
He said Congress needs legislation to help what he called "the most underpaid profession in the United States for the amount of sacrifices."
He said even USAA, a lender that "is supposed to be a service member organization," has been no help in resolving the Wisharts' case. He charged the USAA with intentionally interfering with a contract to sell the property.
"It's like lose-lose instead of creating a win-win," Martinez said, describing "the humiliation a person goes through losing their home."
Nicole Alley, a corporate spokeswoman for USAA in San Antonio, said Friday that she didn't have all the details to comment on the Wisharts' case.
Nevertheless, she said, "We're dedicated to those serving the nation and we are sensitive to members having financial hardships in today's economy. That's why USAA goes above the Service Members Relief Act. We go above those requirements on many products including credit cards, personal loans, auto loans and home equity."
Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault contributed to this report. Contact reporter Keith Rogers at krogers @reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308.
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Posted: May 22, 2011 | 7:37 a.m.
Updated: May 22, 2011 | 2:18 p.m.
These soldiers and airmen have dropped bombs or have seen them explode in Iraq and Afghanistan, so they know firsthand the stress of fighting the nation's wars.
Now they are battling a different kind of stress at home in the Las Vegas Valley -- the chronic stress that weighs on them from being at ground zero of the mortgage crisis.
When they get orders to move somewhere else, they have no choice but to go. In many cases, they face six-figure losses on their homes through short sales or foreclosure.
They also risk losing their security clearances, which could prevent them from flying warplanes and leading troops after they arrive at their new assignments.
"This has been more stressful than my deployment," said Lt. Col. Eric Wishart, who is trying to sell a home worth 60 percent less than he paid for it. "And going to Afghanistan is no picnic."
Wishart is not alone.
More than a thousand airmen at Nellis Air Force Base have been trapped in the mortgage crisis and are unable to refinance, according to a survey by Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev.
The survey found 740 airmen upside down on their mortgages don't qualify for the Pentagon aid program, another 263 can't sell their homes at a break-even price and some are renting them at a monthly loss.
Of the base's 8,932 personnel, 32 are in foreclosure and 98 have completed short sales or are in the process of completing one.
After seeing this snapshot of what is happening at Nellis, Heck proposed an amendment to a defense bill to shed more light on the problem.
While the bill doesn't provide funding for an assistance program, it would study the problem nationwide across all branches of the services.
"Service members become distracted by personal and financial issues, rather than focusing on their mission," Heck said earlier this month , noting that a soldier's ruined credit makes it difficult for them to maintain their security clearances.
ONE SOLDIER'S STORY
Wishart, a full-time Nevada National Guard soldier and military science professor who chairs the Army ROTC program at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, is trying to pay off a 1,550-square-foot house in northwest Las Vegas, where he lives with his wife and two daughters.
They bought the house in 2006 for $327,000, but it is only worth $132,000 based upon its current appraisal and a cash offer in a short sale.
His permanent-change-of-station, or PCS, orders will soon send him to Carson City to work as a battalion commander at Guard headquarters.
He might have been able to avoid a loss through the Defense Department's Homeowners' Assistance Program, but he isn't eligible even though it was expanded in the 2009 economic stimulus bill.
The assistance program through the Army Corps of Engineers is limited to personnel who bought their homes before July 1, 2006, but who sold them because of permanent relocations between Feb. 1, 2006, and Sept. 30.
"What I'm asking for is some protection from deficiency judgments," said Wishart, who served as a combat adviser in Afghanistan during a year's tour that ended in 2009.
"Thank God, no one on our team was killed or injured, but we saw our share of rockets and IEDs," he said, referring to improvised explosive devices, or roadside bombs.
'UPSIDE DOWN A BUNCH'
Three pilots who fly fighter jets at Nellis Air Force Base told similar tales after being reassigned out of state.
Lt. Col. Mike Ballek, an F-15 pilot, said he, too, has been enduring financial stress since he learned in October that he would be moving his wife and son to Washington, D.C., this summer.
They bought a new two-story home in June 2007 in a gated North Las Vegas community. The value of the 2,800-square-foot home is "upside down a bunch, over $200,000," he said Friday.
Like Wishart, he isn't eligible for assistance under the Defense Department program and is losing money every month.
"What people would like to see is maybe expand the window or get rid of the eligibility date. Let people apply and let the folks who run the program make the decision on who's deserving," said Ballek, who, like the other pilots, spoke as a private citizen and not on behalf of the armed forces.
Stress from the mortgage crisis centers on that nagging thought "that potentially all your life savings could be gone. There are a lot of unknowns," Ballek said.
"It's a different kind of stress but still stressful," he said. "In combat your primary concern is not getting shot or making sure that you bomb the right target not the wrong target. This is a different kind of stress, the kind that weighs on you over time ... knowing that you have to figure out how to get out from under the house and what's going to happen in terms of security clearances."
'DO THE BEST FOR MY FAMILY'
Marine Corps Lt. Col. David Berke flies F-22 Raptor jets out of Nellis under a pilot exchange program with the Air Force. He moved here in 2008 and bought a home in North Las Vegas with his wife to start their family. They now have a 2-year-old daughter and a newborn.
"I don't have a waterfall and a helicopter pad, just a reasonably priced home in a reasonable neighborhood. The goal was not being greedy or lavish but to do the best for my family."
With orders to relocate next month to Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., to fly the new F-35 joint strike fighter jets, Berke said he will have to find a place to rent there while continuing to make payments on his North Las Vegas home that he bought for about $250,000 but is now worth approximately $120,000.
He expects to lose between $125,000 and $150,000 on his investment, which has brought on "a significant amount of personal stress."
"It undermines the barrier between your professional life and personal life," said Berke, who has been a Marine pilot for 17 years with multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Berke said when he bought the house in 2008 he thought the home market had hit bottom and the market would return. Now he thinks "there's a distinct possibility that home values will decrease in the future."
LOSING SECURITY CLEARANCE
Air Force Lt. Col. Zac Wood closed on his North Las Vegas house in 2009 thinking the market would recover in the three or four years he would be stationed at Nellis flying F-16s.
"I really never thought I'd find myself in this situation," Wood said.
He and his wife have three children.
"We have it on the market and we're trying to hold on to it and sell for at least what we owe the bank."
While he is not as upside down on his North Las Vegas home as some of the other pilots, his situation is compounded by having his savings tied up in a previous residence in Newport News, Va., that he must rent out at a loss.
He also is worried about losing his security clearance after he moves to his new assignment in Fort Drum, N.Y., his 11th move in 17 years.
"Up until last year my understanding was you could let security know you might have to file bankruptcy and go into foreclosure, and they would kind of understand that. But in the last six months to nine months or so, they've come about and said they're not going to be quite so understanding," he said.
"So I could lose my security clearance. And if I lose my security clearance, I'm kind of useless to the Air Force. Pretty much every job that I could do requires a security clearance."
Wood, an Iraq War veteran, said he loses sleep trying to grapple with the mortgage crisis.
"It's a horribly stressful situation," he said, adding that he tries to find peace of mind through running. "I ran six miles today to get rid of it."
In interviews last week, the three pilots emphasized that they need to protect the integrity of their security clearances. They said they also risk depleting their savings to stay afloat while they try to sell their homes at a loss, or rent them out with a negative cash flow. Additionally, they will be strapped to buy or rent at their new locations that, like Nellis, have either no or limited on-base housing.
THROUGH AN AGENT'S EYES
Real estate agent Aldo Martinez, who retired from the military in 2005, is handling the Wishart family's short sale and has worked with many active duty soldiers and airmen in the Las Vegas area.
He said Congress needs legislation to help what he called "the most underpaid profession in the United States for the amount of sacrifices."
He said even USAA, a lender that "is supposed to be a service member organization," has been no help in resolving the Wisharts' case. He charged the USAA with intentionally interfering with a contract to sell the property.
"It's like lose-lose instead of creating a win-win," Martinez said, describing "the humiliation a person goes through losing their home."
Nicole Alley, a corporate spokeswoman for USAA in San Antonio, said Friday that she didn't have all the details to comment on the Wisharts' case.
Nevertheless, she said, "We're dedicated to those serving the nation and we are sensitive to members having financial hardships in today's economy. That's why USAA goes above the Service Members Relief Act. We go above those requirements on many products including credit cards, personal loans, auto loans and home equity."
Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault contributed to this report. Contact reporter Keith Rogers at krogers @reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0308.
Report puts Las Vegas new-home sales at three-decade low
By Hubble Smith
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Posted: May 17, 2011 | 2:18 a.m.
Updated: May 17, 2011 | 10:55 a.m.
New-home sales declined 44 percent from a year ago to just 267 in April and are on pace to barely break 3,000 for the year, research firm SalesTraq reported Monday.
It would be the lowest number that SalesTraq President Larry Murphy said he could remember in more than 30 years.
Last year's total was 5,438, down from a peak of 38,705 in 2005.
The new-home median price dropped to $189,099, a 7.5 percent decrease from a year ago. The average price per square foot of $91.17 is down 12.4 percent.
Murphy said he found 14 new homes in one subdivision sold to a single investor for cash at $140,000 each.
In looking at all 267 sales during the month, he also found that some of the homes were built from 2006 to 2009 and never sold.
"After three years, builders are saying, 'Let's drop the prices and get them off the books.' New-home sales are few and far between right now," Murphy said.
The resale market is taking off with 4,970 sales in April, a 13.8 percent increase from the same month a year ago. That's on the heels of more than 5,000 sales in March.
Median resale price, however, continued to drop to $106,900 in April, down 14.5 percent from a year ago and a step closer to the $100,000 mark that Murphy predicted as a possibility earlier this year.
About 50 percent of homes were purchased with cash and 78 percent were vacant, SalesTraq reported.
"We've been saying that for 18 months and it's still true and prices are still dropping," Murphy said.
SalesTraq showed 822 short sales, or lender-approved sales for less than the mortgage owed, at an average price of $120,000; 785 trustee auction sales at an average of $90,000; 1,973 bank-owned sales at an average of $105,000; and 1,390 nondistressed home sales at an average of $110,000.
Builders pulled 313 permits during the month, a 34 percent decrease from April 2010.
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Posted: May 17, 2011 | 2:18 a.m.
Updated: May 17, 2011 | 10:55 a.m.
New-home sales declined 44 percent from a year ago to just 267 in April and are on pace to barely break 3,000 for the year, research firm SalesTraq reported Monday.
It would be the lowest number that SalesTraq President Larry Murphy said he could remember in more than 30 years.
Last year's total was 5,438, down from a peak of 38,705 in 2005.
The new-home median price dropped to $189,099, a 7.5 percent decrease from a year ago. The average price per square foot of $91.17 is down 12.4 percent.
Murphy said he found 14 new homes in one subdivision sold to a single investor for cash at $140,000 each.
In looking at all 267 sales during the month, he also found that some of the homes were built from 2006 to 2009 and never sold.
"After three years, builders are saying, 'Let's drop the prices and get them off the books.' New-home sales are few and far between right now," Murphy said.
The resale market is taking off with 4,970 sales in April, a 13.8 percent increase from the same month a year ago. That's on the heels of more than 5,000 sales in March.
Median resale price, however, continued to drop to $106,900 in April, down 14.5 percent from a year ago and a step closer to the $100,000 mark that Murphy predicted as a possibility earlier this year.
About 50 percent of homes were purchased with cash and 78 percent were vacant, SalesTraq reported.
"We've been saying that for 18 months and it's still true and prices are still dropping," Murphy said.
SalesTraq showed 822 short sales, or lender-approved sales for less than the mortgage owed, at an average price of $120,000; 785 trustee auction sales at an average of $90,000; 1,973 bank-owned sales at an average of $105,000; and 1,390 nondistressed home sales at an average of $110,000.
Builders pulled 313 permits during the month, a 34 percent decrease from April 2010.
Small drop in Nevada rate for troubled mortgages
By John G. Edwards
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Posted: May 19, 2011 | 11:06 a.m.
The percentage of residential mortgage loans that are delinquent in Nevada dropped a percentage point during the first quarter, but Nevada remains one of the country's most troubled states for past-due mortgage loans and foreclosures, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Thursday.
The delinquency rate fell 1.08 percentage points, to 10.6 percent, at the end of March, the association said.
However, the association said mortgage delinquency rates normally decline between the fourth and first quarters because of seasonal factors.
The percentage of loans on which foreclosure was started during the quarter plunged by 0.66 percentage points to 2.3 percent, the association said. Meanwhile, the percentage of loans in the foreclosure process dipped 0.8 percent to 9.32 percent.
Nevada ranks third in delinquencies and first in foreclosures started among all states and the District of Columbia, the trade group reported.
Many individuals with home mortgages are "financially and psychologically exhausted," said Tisha Black Chernine, founding partner of law firm Black & LoBello.
They have tired of waiting for a government program or law to deal with the residential foreclosures, she said.
"I think it's going to take another 12 to 18 months to get where we are secure in our property values," Black Chernine said. "As soon as we have real property stability, we'll start recovering as a state."
She observed a temporary reduction of housing supply as lenders slow down foreclosures, because of government pressure to correct past foreclosure- processing problems. Nevertheless, she said the overhang of foreclosed but vacant houses depresses home prices.
But the number of Clark County homeowners receiving foreclosure notices fell dramatically in April, reflecting a regional decline in foreclosure activity at every level, ForeclosureRadar reported.
Notices of default filings in the county fell 18.1 percent from March and 36.24 percent compared with April 2010. Canceled foreclosures were up 69.54 percent over 2010.
The slowdown in foreclosure activity has also slowed the time properties spend in the foreclosure pipeline. The time to foreclose in Clark County now averages 348 days, 56 percent longer than a year ago. Bank-owned properties are taking 183 days to sell, nearly 20 percent longer than in April 2010.
For all of Nevada, notices of default decreased 17.8 percent in April from the prior month, falling to the lowest point seen since ForeclosureRadar began tracking Nevada foreclosure filings in August 2009.
Notice of trustee sale filings fell 23.7 percent month over month. Activity on the courthouse steps was mixed, with sales back to banks down by 2.7 percent. Sales to third parties, typically investors, were up 6.9 percent from March, and up 81 percent from April 2010. Cancellations were 14 percent higher month over month and 69.5 percent year over year.
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Posted: May 19, 2011 | 11:06 a.m.
The percentage of residential mortgage loans that are delinquent in Nevada dropped a percentage point during the first quarter, but Nevada remains one of the country's most troubled states for past-due mortgage loans and foreclosures, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported Thursday.
The delinquency rate fell 1.08 percentage points, to 10.6 percent, at the end of March, the association said.
However, the association said mortgage delinquency rates normally decline between the fourth and first quarters because of seasonal factors.
The percentage of loans on which foreclosure was started during the quarter plunged by 0.66 percentage points to 2.3 percent, the association said. Meanwhile, the percentage of loans in the foreclosure process dipped 0.8 percent to 9.32 percent.
Nevada ranks third in delinquencies and first in foreclosures started among all states and the District of Columbia, the trade group reported.
Many individuals with home mortgages are "financially and psychologically exhausted," said Tisha Black Chernine, founding partner of law firm Black & LoBello.
They have tired of waiting for a government program or law to deal with the residential foreclosures, she said.
"I think it's going to take another 12 to 18 months to get where we are secure in our property values," Black Chernine said. "As soon as we have real property stability, we'll start recovering as a state."
She observed a temporary reduction of housing supply as lenders slow down foreclosures, because of government pressure to correct past foreclosure- processing problems. Nevertheless, she said the overhang of foreclosed but vacant houses depresses home prices.
But the number of Clark County homeowners receiving foreclosure notices fell dramatically in April, reflecting a regional decline in foreclosure activity at every level, ForeclosureRadar reported.
Notices of default filings in the county fell 18.1 percent from March and 36.24 percent compared with April 2010. Canceled foreclosures were up 69.54 percent over 2010.
The slowdown in foreclosure activity has also slowed the time properties spend in the foreclosure pipeline. The time to foreclose in Clark County now averages 348 days, 56 percent longer than a year ago. Bank-owned properties are taking 183 days to sell, nearly 20 percent longer than in April 2010.
For all of Nevada, notices of default decreased 17.8 percent in April from the prior month, falling to the lowest point seen since ForeclosureRadar began tracking Nevada foreclosure filings in August 2009.
Notice of trustee sale filings fell 23.7 percent month over month. Activity on the courthouse steps was mixed, with sales back to banks down by 2.7 percent. Sales to third parties, typically investors, were up 6.9 percent from March, and up 81 percent from April 2010. Cancellations were 14 percent higher month over month and 69.5 percent year over year.
Wells Fargo to hold workshop on mortgage-loan modification
By John G. Edwards
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Posted: May 20, 2011 | 2:16 a.m.
Updated: May 20, 2011 | 11:55 p.m.
Wells Fargo Bank will hold its second workshop for homeowners seeking home-loan modifications, and Nevada President Kirk Clausen said the odds of getting help are good.
Last year, 53 percent of the 800 homeowners attending the workshop in Las Vegas were approved for a mortgage workout option, he said. Of those approved, 18 percent received help through the federal government's Home Affordable Modification Program but 70 percent benefited from the Wells Fargo mortgage modification program.
The program is for homeowners who make mortgage payments to Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Wells Fargo Financial, Wachovia Mortgage and Wells Fargo Home Equity.
The workshops will be conducted from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday at the Tropicana conference center, 3801 Las Vegas Blvd. South. Reservations are recommended but not required. Visit wfhmevents.com/leadingthewayhome to register. Call 800-405-8067 for information.
LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL
Posted: May 20, 2011 | 2:16 a.m.
Updated: May 20, 2011 | 11:55 p.m.
Wells Fargo Bank will hold its second workshop for homeowners seeking home-loan modifications, and Nevada President Kirk Clausen said the odds of getting help are good.
Last year, 53 percent of the 800 homeowners attending the workshop in Las Vegas were approved for a mortgage workout option, he said. Of those approved, 18 percent received help through the federal government's Home Affordable Modification Program but 70 percent benefited from the Wells Fargo mortgage modification program.
The program is for homeowners who make mortgage payments to Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Wells Fargo Financial, Wachovia Mortgage and Wells Fargo Home Equity.
The workshops will be conducted from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday at the Tropicana conference center, 3801 Las Vegas Blvd. South. Reservations are recommended but not required. Visit wfhmevents.com/leadingthewayhome to register. Call 800-405-8067 for information.
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